Cardium Therapeutics Inc. — a small and eclectic San Diego biotech holding company that has been teetering on the edge of getting delisted from the New York Stock Exchange — has voluntarily elected to begin trading on the OTC exchange.
The company develops several disparate medical products, including topical wound care gels, nutritional supplements and heart disease medications.
A representative from the company could not be reached for comment on the decision to delist.
The company traded on the OTC markets before it joined the NYSE in 2007. But Cardium (NYSE: CXM) has been in danger of losing its listing from the NYSE several times since it began trading on the exchange, though it peaked at above $70 in 2007. Shares closed on Jan. 9 at 69 cents per share.
The company performed a 1-for-20 reverse stock split in July, bringing its shares from about 6 cents to $1.35. But when the stock dipped again below $1, the company faced removal from the NYSE.
Cardium described the decision to rejoin the OTC markets as “part of its restructuring and cost-containment efforts designed to enable a strategic focus on key biological products.” It will change its ticker symbol from “CXM” to a four-letter symbol to comply with OTC requirements, and it will announce the change shortly, the company said.
It made a number of small acquisitions and divestments, most recently selling its To Go Brands subsidiary for $2.5 million in November to Norwalk, Conn.-based Cell-nique Corp. The company’s biggest sale was in 2009, selling its InnerCool Therapies subsidiary to Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG) for $12.75 million.
In September, the company launched a life insurance program for men with prostate cancer. The subsidiary, called LifeAgain Insurance Solutions Inc., partnered with Bellevue, Wash.-based life insurance company Symetra, a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK) company.
Shareholders will not be required to exchange any shares, and Cardium expects electronic trading to be available without any material disruption, the company said.
CEO Chris Reinhard said in a September interview that Cardium’s quick buy-and-sell tactics were central to the company’s business model.
“We’re contrarians, and we build and position a variety of the medical assets that we have,” he said.